Burma Police Killed on Drug Patrol

Burma's official media reported Saturday that troops confiscated grenades and other weapons from a border hide-out used by suspected drug traffickers, after an earlier gunbattle killed 13 policemen and members of their patrol.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar said the shoot-out took place February 20 near the northeastern town of Tachileik, which borders Thailand.

The report said an anti-drug squad was patrolling the Mekong river near Tachileik when it encountered drug traffickers and a gunbattle broke out. Eight policemen were killed, along with two local militia members and three police boat drivers. Two police officers were wounded.

The paper said that police, acting on a tip, found 15 tents several days later on an island in the Mekong. Authorities seized grenades, rifles, ammunition and blocks of caffeine - an ingredient of methamphetamine tablets.